“No'm. I don't believe I am. I don't know what that means.”
“You don't know what sulky means?” suspiciously. “It is very naughty for a little girl to refuse to eat her dinner because she is angry at being punished for her own good.”
“Did you send me to bed because you loved me?” asked Jewel. Her cheeks were very red, but even the disconcerted housekeeper could see that she was not excited or angry.
“Everybody loves good little girls,” returned Mrs. Forbes. “Now eat your dinner, Julia, so I can carry down the tray.”
“I did eat the bread. It was all I wanted. It was very nice.”
The polite addition made the housekeeper uncertain. While she paused Jewel added, “I wish I could see grandpa.”
“He's gone out on business. He won't be back until after you are asleep. And if you were thinking of complaining to him, Julia, I tell you it won't do any good. He will trust everything to me.”
“Do you think I would trouble grandpa?” returned the child.
The housekeeper looked at her in silent perplexity. The blue eyes were direct and innocent, but there was a heaviness about them that stirred Mrs. Forbes uncomfortably.
“You must have got too tired playing this afternoon, Julia,” she said decisively, “or you would be hungry for your dinner. You took that hot bath I told you to?”